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George Robert Twelves Hewes

George Hewes was born in Boston in 1742 but moved to New York when he was eight. Born into a poor family with his dad dying of a stroke at a very young age, his mom was the sole benefactor of the house. From the beginning, it was clear that he was destined to be established into a low social class for he didn’t have anything going for him. He wasn’t' tall nor big so the only job he could do was to make shoes. Later when he would want to fight in the war, he could not because his physical statue. He was put into the shoemakin business by his mom beause she felt he wasn't capable of doin anything else. No one else in his family had done anything other than trading or jobs of such kind. This made Hewes seem to have a strong or dominant personality. "He was what Bostonians called 'saucy'; he was always in Dutch (575)." He mother was very controlling of him which would later effect the way he responded to authority. "Abigail Hewes must have been desperate to control George." This statement refers to how Abigail would punish George very heavily for the littlest things. Young interprets this as a way to keep her son in line or restrain him from straying from the family.
As George Hewes got older, more Americans were rebelling against Britain's ruling. Britain began to tax the cities' more on things that seemed unnecessary to the people. Hewes still was a shoemaker as an adult male so that didn’t help him move up into a higher social class. According to Young, "Between 1768 and 1775, the shoemaker became a citizen-an active participant in the events that led to the Revolution, an angry, assertive man who won recognition as a patriot (585)." This quote states much about Hewes personality. Throughout his life, many people tried to step on and take advantage of him, but this did not get him down. No matter how people treated him, he still gave them respect and would not act hastily or in spite. In one instance, a soldier...